Posted by vicki on Apr 20, 2011 in
Fasting stuff,
Personal Growth Stuff Growing an unshakeable trust in God as you face your tomorrow is not
about self-improvement or mastering your circumstances, but about God-
who He is, what He does, and how we can trust Him, -Anne Graham Lotz
We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties, -Oswald Chambers
Ah, another re-calibration moment during the fast.
Sometimes when I pray, if I admit it, I am worried that God is not going to answer my prayer in the way I want Him to.
Really. (How embarrassing, actually.)
I love the quotes in today’s Awake devotional.
Trust God with the future. Keep your eyes on Him- not the difficulties.
Amen.
Now- to ask His help in doing just that!
Posted by vicki on Apr 19, 2011 in
Fasting stuff,
Listening stuff
I am not much of a party-person.
My job uses conversation all day long, so if I go to a party, I sort of dread needing to cook up another conversation.
However, there are some folks I don’t mind going to a party with. They are the ones you ask one question, and like a runner at the starting post- they’re off. They chatter and chatter- and I can just lean back, listen, and relax.
But, then, a party is not a place to get into deep, meaning-of-life conversation. It is not a place to learn a person’s heart.
If I truly want to know a person’s heart, I will pray with them often. When I pray with someone, it seems that the Holy Spirit works in us both to understand each other.
How much deeper and more meaningful prayer can be if I am truly trying to understand God’s heart.
I think that is what fasting is doing:
-calibrating
-setting aside my agenda
-listening to Him
-quieting my own noise
-seeking His thoughts and wishes
I feel like at this point in the process I am listening better, am quieter.
What are you noticing about your prayer life now?
Posted by vicki on Apr 17, 2011 in
Fasting stuff,
Intercessory stuff The key to praying with power is to become the kind of persons who do not
use God for our ends but are utterly devoted to being used for His ends. – John Piper
Have you noticed as you are fasting, that while you pray you are starting to notice needs in those around you. Maybe in family, friends, associates? Maybe in the troubled world at large?
John Piper said it well in the quote. We don’t try to use God for our own purposes. As we fast, we become devoted to God in a way that He can use us more easily for His purposes.
His purpose might be:
-prayer
-a kind, supportive word or deed
-a gift
-a sacrifice.
Whatever it is, it becomes thrilling to engage it. Thrilling to engage God in it.
I had the opportunity late one evening to pray with some of my former students. I was exhausted from a full day of work and a fundraiser event, but God used our time together anyway. (It was a great illustration of Him being strong when we are weak.) What a blessing to see God work on these precious students’ behalf.
Where has He used you for His purposes?